Syracuse, N.Y. — The annual StartFast Venture Accelerator wraps up today as teams pitch their companies to an audience of mentors and investors.

The program, backed by private investors, brings teams of entrepreneurs from around the world to Syracuse every year for three months of coaching, mentoring and business development.

Just one of this year's six companies is from Syracuse. Platypus TV is a social media platform tied specifically to discussing television shows.

Other teams include Instamour, an online dating app that has grown its user base from 10,000 to 100,000 people during the StartFast program, and Interface Foundry, which created an app that ties user data to specific places and times.

The companies come from locations including New York City, Philadelphia, San Diego, Chile, Australia and Berkeley, California.

In addition to presentations from the StartFast participants, Demo Day will include talks from several startup experts and entrepreneurs, including:

Patrick Ambron, CEO of BrandYourself, a service that helps users manage their search results online. The company is now based in New York City, but got its start Syracuse University in 2009 and won a $200,000 business competition in Syracuse in 2011.

Brian Zuercher, CEO of SEEN and an alumnus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

StartFast aims to attract the best startups it can find, regardless of whether they're from Central New York.

Some end up moving to the area permanently, organizers say. The region also benefits from frequent contact with high-quality mentors who come to the area regularly to work with StartFast teams.

Attracting top startups to the program also showcases Central New York as a place high growth companies can succeed, according to StartFast.

Participating companies get up to $25,000 in seed funding. StartFast investors get a 7 percent stake in the firms.

The program's backers include the Seed Capital Fund of Central New York, the Cayuga Venture Fund and individuals. The program began in 2012 with about $2 million and plans raise more funding to extend the effort through 2019.